La Rioja Alta '904 Seleccion Especial' Rioja Gran Reserva 2015

Gran Reserva, which means years in barrel and years in bottle before release. This is what Rioja tastes like when nobody rushes it.

Producer note Combining tradition and state-of-the-art technology, La Rioja Alta, S.A. is an iconic, world-class producer of classically-styled Reserva and Gran Reserva wines which undergo considerable cask-ageing in order to achieve La Rioja Alta S.A.'s renowned style. La Rioja Alta, S.A. was founded in 1890, in the old railway quarter of Haro, by five families including the Aranas, the Ardanzas and the Alberdis - their names are now celebrated on each of the Reserva wines. The company gradually expanded, and in 1996 a new purpose-built winery in Labastida was completed, focussing on improving quality and enabling the purest expressions of fruit to be showcased in the wines. Oak is at the heart of the ageing process, and La Rioja Alta, S.A. boasts its own in-house coopers who use artisanal methods to produce their own barrels from wood imported from the US and air-dried on site in Haro. Traditional manual racking takes place by candlelight every six months, and the vines are sustainably farmed. Their awardwinning wines consistently receive accolades world-wide and in 2022, La Rioja Alta, S.A. was declared the 'World's Fourth Most Admired Wine Brand' by Drinks International. Vintage: Optimal weather conditions favoured excellent canopy development and a healthy vegetative cycle, resulting in excellent maturity and balanced fruit at harvest. These magnificent conditions produced fresh, elegant wines, with beautiful balance and intense fruit, silky tannins and a remarkable aptitude for ageing. 2015 was officially rated as Very Good. Vineyard: The Tempranillo grapes are carefully selected from vineyards in Villalba, Briñas and Rodezno. A small proportion of Graciano comes from the Montecillo vineyard in Fuenmayor, which adds backbone to the blend. La Rioja Alta is committed to respecting and protecting the environment. In the vineyard, treatments are limited, investments have been made into clean energy sources and water is reused. Insect shelters have been installed in vineyards, promoting environmentally-friendly plant health defence while increasing the biodiversity in the vineyard. The grapes are handharvested at optimal ripeness.

TastingNote Silky, elegant and full of finesse showing great aromatic complexity with notes of wild strawberry, red cherry and plum, layered with tobacco, brioche, vanilla, caramel, cedar and cinnamon blossom through to an everlasting finish. Grape Tempranillo 89%, Graciano 11%